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To become a Muslim and to convert to Islam, it is essential to utter the Shahada in front of Muslim
witnesses,[81] one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is
only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is God's messenger.[82] It is a set statement normally recited
in Arabic: ašhadu ʾan-lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh ( ‫أشهد أن ال إله إال هللا‬
‫" )وأشهد أن محمدًا رسول هللا‬I testify that there is no god [worthy of worship] except Allah, and Muhammad is
the messenger of Allah."[83]

In Sunni Islam, the shahada has two parts: la ilaha illa'llah (there is no god but Allah), and Muhammadun
rasul Allah (Muhammad is the messenger of God),[84] which are sometimes referred to as the first
shahada and the second shahada.[85] The first statement of the shahada is also known as the tahlīl.[86]

In Shia Islam, the shahada also has a third part, a phrase concerning Ali, the first Shia Imam and the
fourth Rashid caliph of Sunni Islam: ‫( وعلٌي ولُّي هللا‬wa ʿalīyyun walīyyu-llāh), which translates to "Ali is the
wali of God".[87]

In Quranist Islam, the shahada is the testimony that there is no god but Allah (la ilaha illa'llah ).[citation
needed]

The religious practices of Muslims are enumerated in the Five Pillars of Islam: the declaration of faith
(shahadah), daily prayers (salah), almsgiving (zakat), fasting during the month of Ramadan (sawm), and
the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.[88][89]